French Chefs are seated around a table on a platform that is held by a crane suspended at a height of 50 meters above the Tuileries Garden seen in background, as part of the presentation of the event 'Dinner in the Sky' in Paris, Friday Sept. 11, 2009.

For five days in Paris, those with a few extra hundred euros in their pockets can enjoy the best of French cuisine¹ while seated 50 metres up in the sky.

From Friday to Tuesday, a French lifestyle and gourmet² food magazine is sponsoring lunches and dinners prepared by Paris' most elite³ chefs. For Euro924 (US$1,350) a person, guests can eat perched above the Tuileries Gardens with a stellar view of the city.

The event is not only about luxury dining - Euro100 (US$146) for every customer goes to France's Federation⁴ of Rare Diseases, which funds research into unknown diseases.

"This event shows the human dimension of French chefs, and we are very thankful for their generosity," said the federation's president, Marie-Christine Louppe.

The 12 chefs taking part represent the city's best dining establishments, and will prepare a total of 550 meals for the project.

Meurice Hotel head chef Yannick Alleno said he planned a meal of white salmon⁵, veal⁶ with truffles and cake.

"We are promoting French cuisine at an international level," he said.

So how do the diners get to eat in the sky?

A large metal table seating 22 people is secured to a platform and suspended by metal cords from a glass roof that is connected to a crane. The moving crane slowly lifts the table into the air. The guests are strapped⁷ into large, cushioned black chairs not unlike those of a roller coaster. Two chandeliers and large lights hang from the roof.

"I have worked in this park for 28 years, and I have never seen anything like this," said Lansana Goudiaby, 52, who works for a cleaning company that is helping⁸ out at the event. "It's wonderful ... it's important that we have progress like this."

口袋里有点闲钱的人注意了，你们有五天机会在巴黎距地面50米的高空享用最美味的法国大餐。

此次空中用餐活动由法国一家生活和美食杂志组织发起，从上周五持续至本周二。活动所提供的午餐和晚餐均由巴黎的顶级厨师们烹制。只要支付924欧元（合1350美元），你就可在杜乐丽花园上空一边享用美食，一边欣赏全城美景。

这次活动不仅仅是一次饕餮盛宴，每位顾客所付餐费中的100欧元（合146美元）将捐给法国“罕见疾病联合会”，该联合会为罕见疾病的研究提供资金支持。

联合会的主席玛丽-克里斯汀•路佩说：“这次活动展示了巴黎厨师人性化的一面，对于他们的慷慨，我们十分感激。”

参与此次活动的12位厨师来自巴黎最好的餐饮机构，他们将为此次活动共准备550份食物。

莫里斯酒店的主厨亚尼克•阿雷诺说，他打算烹制一份包括白汁三文鱼、块菌煮小牛肉和蛋糕的餐食。

他说：“我们要把法国美食推向世界。”

那么用餐者如何在空中进餐呢？

用餐者围坐在一张能容纳22人的大金属餐桌边，整个餐桌被固定在一个框架上，并由从玻璃屋顶上垂下的金属绳索吊起，屋顶则和起重机相连。然后起重机缓缓将餐桌吊起送到空中，客人们则被固定在类似于过山车座椅的黑色大软垫椅上。屋顶上还悬挂着两盏枝形吊灯和几个大型灯具。

在活动现场帮忙的保洁公司员工、52岁的兰萨纳•古迪亚比说：“我已经在杜乐丽花园干了28年了，但我还从来没见过这样的餐会。真的很棒，重要的是我们有了这样的进步。”

Vocabulary:

elite: selected as the best 杰出的，精英的

stellar: 星的。stella view是指“像看星星一样的”，因为从高处往下看，城市的一切都变得很小，星星点点的，就和仰望星空一样。

truffle: a round fungus which grows underground and is regarded as a delicacy 块菌

roller coaster: 过山车